Interzone Cover Artwork All In One Place

On and impluse, I did a search for old Interzone covers on google images, and came back with this site which holds most (if not all) the covers of Interzone from Issue 1 to Issue 199, which strangely enough is exactly where I started subscribing to it.

I particularly liked the way the cover changed slightly from Issue 1 to Issue 2, the total eclipse of the sun moving off centre and the colour changing. Very effective, if simplistic.

You can see how the artwork progressed, and the way in which ’sf’ is being portrayed through art is changing.

It’s also amusing to see how the Interzone logos change over the years, of which I prefer the newest. Although that’s not to say the older ones weren’t ‘cool’ in their day - they just look kind of dated now, which isn’t really true of the artwork itself, it’s stood the test of time.

My favourite is Issue 16 as it reflects the kind of stories I rate high on my list - a world which is similar to our own on the surface, but strange when examined closely.

Looking at the covers, quite a few names jump out. Most notably, J.G Ballard, Christopher Priest, Jonathan Carroll (which I never realised had written for Interzone), Ian Watson, Kim Newman, Greg Bear, Bruce Sterling,, Greg Egan, Eric Brown and William Gibson, to name but a few. Which goes to make an impressive lineup.

A great archive, which covers the covers of the world’s best, British and longest running, sf magazine, although, sadly, the names of the artists are missing.

AFTER DARK at the BFI IMAX
Alien Quadrilogy all-nighter (Alien, Aliens, Alien 3, Alien Resurrection)
Plus Hot Fuzz, Sunshine, 28 Weeks Later and Curse of the Golden Flower

After the roaring success of 300, which took over the late evening slot for the last two months, After Dark at the BFI IMAX is back with an extra-special event on Saturday 2 June – an all-night screening of the Alien quadrilogy with the added bonus of Alien 1, 2 and 3 presented in stunning 70mm. Also showing soon on the big screen on the South Bank will be four current movie hits; Hot Fuzz, Sunshine, 28 Weeks Later and Curse of the Golden Flower.

For the first time at the BFI IMAX since 2000, sci-fi and horror fans can not only see Ridley Scott’s ground-breaking movie – one of the scariest films ever made – back on the big screen again, but can sit in comfort, even with a beverage or two and enjoy the three sequels. It’s a marathon SEVEN hours of viewing to handle throughout the night, so remember…. in space no one can hear you scream.

AfterDark Schedule Dates/Times:
May
Fri 25 – Thurs 31 May at 8.45pm – Hot Fuzz (15)
June
Fri 1 – Thurs 7 June at 8.45pm (except for 6.45pm on 2 June) – Sunshine (15)
Sat 2 June from 9.00pm – Alien quadrilogy all-nighter – all four films showing back to back, with a 30-minute break between each
9.00pm – Alien 70mm (15)
12 midnight – Aliens 70mm (18)
2.30am – Alien 3 70mm (18)
5.00am – Alien: Ressurection (18)

Fri 8 – Thurs 14 June at 8.45pm – 28 Weeks Later (18)
Fri 15 – Thurs 21 June at 8.45pm – Curse of the Golden Flower (15)

During the all-night event teas and coffees will be provided FREE, with snacks, sweets and soft drinks available to buy and a range of alcoholic drinks on sale at the bar.

All films with the exception of Alien, Aliens and Alien 3 which are the original 70mm versions, will be shown in their original theatrical 35mm versions (NB. not IMAX or IMAX DMR); the image will fill approximately one third of the giant screen.

Cinema information
The BFI IMAX is located at South Bank, London SE1. Nearest tube is Waterloo (2 minutes walk). Tickets for the Alien all-nighter are £25.00 for Adults and £18 for Concessions and can be bought either online from www.bfi.org.uk/imax, from the ticket desk in person or by telephoning the box office on 0870 787 2525. Tickets for the other films showing in May and June are £8.50 Adults and £6.25 Concessions.

About After Dark at the BFI IMAX
Created to offer an alternative during the evening to the mainly family-friendly titles that generally comprise our programme, After Dark is an opportunity for local residents south of the River to see new releases on the big screen. Films are screened in their original theatrical 35mm formats, unless otherwise indicated, using standard projection (i.e. not IMAX or IMAX digital re-mastering); the image fills approximately one third of the screen, making it one of the biggest pictures in London. As the auditorium is designed as a sound studio, sound quality is excellent. The BFI IMAX, two minutes from Waterloo station, offers a perfect view from steeply raked seats. Alcoholic drinks along with snacks, sweets and soft drinks are available to buy. The After Dark programme changes regularly and customers are advised to check our website or local listings for details.

About the BFI IMAX
The BFI IMAX is run by the BFI. A state-of-the-art, large-format cinema seating over 485 people, it features a screen more than 20 metres high – the height of five double-decker buses – and stretching more than 26 metres wide. It is the largest cinema screen in the UK. This, together with the 12,000-watt digital surround-sound system and the most sophisticated motion-picture projector in the world, immerses audiences in larger-than-life images and ultra-realistic sound, whether the film is in 2D, 3D or IMAX® DMR™.

About the BFI
There’s more to discover about film and television through the BFI. Our world-renowned archive, cinemas, festivals, films, publications and learning resources are here to inspire you.

Stargate: The Arc Of Truth

Q) Can you tell me if you will be showing the extra episodes of Stargate that continue to 10.5 episodes that the usa Scifi Channel is showing.

And also when the new Stargate film The Arc of Truth will be available to buy in the U.K. Thank you.

A) We haven’t been following Stargate the series at all, so no ideas there.

We mentioned Stargate episode 200 a while back, and realised it would take a long, long time to catch up.

If any of you Scifi addicts out there have any ideas, let us know via the contact form.

Q) Just wondering if Earth: Final Conflict will ever come back to our screens.

It just finished about 18months 2 years ago with no explanation.

A) Judging by the various episode listings, it appears that six series were made. As I’m not sure what the last one was to be shown (I’m presuming you’re from the UK), then I don’t rightly know if they showed them all or cut off halfway through. To be honest, Earth: Final Conflict was never one I watched. It didn’t grab me while I was watching it, and it was just so boring, and really nothing new.

But, hey, you can always get it on DVD and watch it as much as you like.

If there’s any Scifi Question you’d like to ask us, then let us know and we’ll bust our brains to find the answer!

The Downlink
By Kenneth C. Goldman

© 1997 and reprinted with the author’s permission.

‘Attaboy , Boatswain. There’s a good dog. You’re hungry, aren’t you, pal? A few more minutes, okay? Soon as I’m through talking with this nice man.

Don’t care . . .

Some imbecile of a poet once wrote how it’s better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all, blah, blah, and blah. I guess the words look good on paper if you’re a Freshman taking Horsefeathers Lit 101. Well, Jim, I’m here to tell you Mr. Tennyson got it wrong.

I loved once.

I lost love once.
(more…)

Coke, Diet Coke? You Weird Bleeders

Following on from the post earlier about Eddie Izzard’s scifi sketch, someone has let me know that the excerpt is available online. (I think I’ll become Eddie’s unofficial promotor for a while).

!!!As before it contains swearing, so if you’re scared of those kinds of words, don’t watch it!!!

I checked out some of his other sketches (which you can do at the link above), and it’s apparent that he ties in science fiction jokes into his sketches all over the place.

I’m going to have a look and see what else I can dig up in relation to science fiction sketches.

Eddie Combats Automated Comment Spam (With The Help Of An Anti-Spam Scifi Sketch)

This is an edited version of Cake Or Death from the Eddie Izzard - it’s magical: as it has the power to combat automated comment spam.

Actually, not really, but I needed an excuse to tie in Eddie Izzard with the comment spam filter I’ve installed, so comments are re-opened AND we all get a laugh.

!!!Contains a bit of swearing, much like the spam used to, so DON’T read ahead if you’re scared of it!!!

Over to Eddie Izzard, ladies and gentlemen:

Future
But finally tonight, finally tonight I just want to talk about the future. The future. Where will the future be? Science Fiction writers, they write it down, they write it down in books. And then it becomes films, and then it all comes to pass, like those doors in Star trek: (whoosh sound) we’ve got them now! That’s about it! But that’s happened.

And they had ‘The Empire Strikes Back’, the fifth of the four Star Wars films. He is fucking with us numerically, isn’t he! “Children, count up to ten.” “Four, five, six, one, two, three, ten”. No, it goes, four, five, six, one, two, three… No, it goes: four, five, six. One. Two and three have not been made.” “Two and three have not been made! What should they be?” “What should they be? We do not know. All we know is that there will be a big floppy character in it that goes, (like Ja Ja) ‘Brr brr, brr brr..’ who needs a punch up the bracket!”

That’s another one, that’s the punch right there. Up the bracket. (indicates face) This is the bracket, I think. I didn’t know, my dad used to say it to me, “You need a good punch up the bracket!” No he didn’t, actually. He used to say, “I’ll smash you through that wall!”

So, uh, where was I going? Yes, yes, yes, so Star Wars, I mean they had the Deathstar. Deathstar is a very… almost like a New York name, ‘The Deathstar’. It gets to the point. (American accent) “What’s that star?” “It’s the Deathstar.” “What does it do?” “It does death! It does death, buddy! Get out of my way… with your centilitres and your millilitres, your fucking combine harvesters.”

Sporadic laugh that was, (mimes weird laugh) It’s like I’ve gone in and removed some of your entrails… Ish, you know. Anyway.

Death Star Canteen
So, uh, yeah, but the Deathstar, the one thing about the Deathstar is that there was no food. No one had food at all. No food at all! No one said, “Hey, Darth Vader, Emperor, just nipping down to alpha beta 9. What d’you want? Couple of sarnies? Um, chicken, ham, ham, chicken, egg, what? Coke? Diet Coke? What d’you want? What d’you want? You weird bleeders!”

But there must have been a Deathstar canteen, yeah? There must have been a cafeteria downstairs, in between battles, where Darth Vader could just chill and go down (Vader voice) “I will have the penne a la arabiata.” (canteen server) “You’ll need a tray.” “Do you know who I am?” “Do you know who I am?” “This is not a game of who the fuck are you. For I am Vader. Darth Vader. Lord Vader. I can kill you with a single thought!” “Well you’ll still need a tray.” “No I will not need a tray. I do not need a tray to kill you. I can kill you without a tray, with the power of the Force - which is strong within me - even though I could kill you with a tray if I so wished. For I would hack at your neck with the thin bit until the blood flowed across the canteen floor…” “No, the food is hot. You’ll need a tray to put the food on.” “Oh I see, the food is hot. I’m sorry I, I did not realise. Hah hah! I thought you were challenging me to a fight to the death.” “Fight to the death? This is canteen, I work here.” “Yes, but I am Vader, I am Lord Vader. Everyone challenges me to a fight to the death. Lord Vader. Darth Vader, I am Darth Vader, Lord Vader. Sir Lord Vader, Sir Lord Darth Vader. Lord Darth Sir Lord Vader of Cheam. Sir Lord Baron von Vaderham. The Deathstar. I run the Deathstar.” “What’s the Deathstar?” (Darth is losing a bit of patience) “This is the Deathstar. You’re in the Deathstar. I run this star.” “This is a star?” “This is a fucking star - I run it. I’m your boss.” “You’re Mr Stephens?” “No, I’m… who is Mr Stephens?” “He’s head of catering.” “I’m not head of catering! I am Vader. I can kill catering with a thought.” “What?” “I can kill you all. I can kill me with a thought. Just… I’ll get a tray, fuck it!

(Still Vader) This one’s wet, and this one’s wet, and this one’s wet. This one is wet, this one is wet, this one is wet, this one is wet, this one is wet, this one is wet, this one is wet, this one is wet. Did you dry these in a rain forest? Why, with the power of the Deathstar, do we not have a tray that is fucking dry? I do not…(someone has pushed in) No, no, no. I was here first.” “You have to form a queue if you want food. Can I have, oh, penne a la arabiata, that looks nice.” “No, no, no. D’you know who I am?” (server buts in) “That’s Jeff Vader, that is.” “I am not Jeff Vader, I am Darth Vader.” “What, Jeff Vader runs the Deathstar?” “No, Jeff… No, I run the Deathstar.” “You Jeff Vader?” “No, I’m Darth Vader!” “Are you his brother? Can you get his autograph?” “I can’t get it… No, I’m… All right, I’m Jeff Vader! I’m Jeff Vader!” “Can I have your autograph?” “No, fuck off, or I’ll kill you with a tray! Give me penne a la arabiata or you shall die. And you, and everyone in this canteen! Death by tray it shall be!” (scornful server) “Do you want peas with that?” “Peas? You don’t have peas! You can’t put red with…It doesn’t work with penne, you don’t put, unless you push them up the penne tubes, and then they’d be weird! Just…(gives up) oh, all right, put some peas on.”

Thank you very much. Thank you.

The End.

(And I’m off out now to get ALL of Eddie’s material.)

You can view Eddie’s Deathstar Cafeteria sketch here too.

August 18th marks the 200th Episode of Stargate SG1 according to the green skinned scifi ranter. That’s dead impressive.

Only - I haven’t seen a single episode. Which means (deep breath): I have to watch 199 episodes beforehand = 199 episodes at 45 minutes : 8955 minutes of it = 149.25 hours? 6.2 days of solid viewing. omg! better order some popcorn…

And they apparently bring back ‘Willie Garson’ - I presume that’s good…

OK, I’ll do it after the rest of The Twilight Zone B&W 2 and Blake’s 7 1 & 2 and LOST.

A guy can only take so much.. .. . .

Shockingly Shockingly Weird

2000AD do an occasional story line which are just weird, very much like the Twilight Zone called Future Shocks or Time Twisters. It’s a place for new artists and scripters to showcase their imagination. Alan Moore has put together a compilation which will - just - weird - you - out.

One memorable one which I recollect is where a guy notices a strip of clear white paint on the roof of his house. He’s bewildered, and wonders what it’s about. No conclusion comes until maybe 15 years later. He’s finally painted his house and low and behold a strip of paint has disappeared. He vaguely remembers something which happened before…

To me these are probably the most thought out story lines, or at least the most weird and thought provoking story lines which have appeared in 2000AD.

If you like weird and thought provoking stories, then simply go get it.

The Affirmation By Christopher Priest, or indeed the Dream Archapeligo are two works to work on as a screen play. Come on.

Personally, I think it should be at least looked at, without CGI. Unless it’s absolutely necessary.

So what’s stopping you?

Or can’t you Director people handle it?

The Future Was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim

Thunderbirds, War of the Worlds , Images of Sci-Fi. Artist Mike Trim Featured in NewBook Slated for July Release

“A book of Mike Trim’s design work is a thing to be treasured.” — Richard Taylor

Five-time Academy Award winner & Special Effects Director of Lord of the Rings, King Kong, Master & Commander: The Far Side of the World, and director of Weta Workshop.

In 1964, young Mike Trim answered a newspaper advertisement seeking model makers for a film production crew and embarked on an odyssey that would last for more than four decades. Beginning in the final days of Stingray, Trim went to work as a model maker and designer for Gerry and Sylvia Anderson’s television series Thunderbirds, Captain Scarlet, Joe 90, The Secret Service and UFO - as well as their feature films: Thunderbirds Are GO, Thunderbird 6 and Journey to the Far Side of the Sun (aka Doppelganger).

Starting out in the model shop, Trim later became Special Effects Director Derek Meddings’ assistant in designing the fabulous futuristic architecture, vehicles, and distinctive look of the Andersons’ imaginative series. Eventually, he assumed responsibility for the majority of the design work for the series as Meddings (who won an Academy Award for his work on the 1978 film Superman) became more involved in feature films.

After contributing a single (unused) vehicle design and model to the series Space: 1999, Trim moved into freelance illustration, creating an iconic cover painting for one of the best-selling albums of all time, Jeff Wayne’s Musical Version of The War of the Worlds, in 1978.

The Art Of Mike Trim. Images Of SciFi.

Celebrating more than forty years as a designer, Trim has now collaborated with author Anthony Taylor to produce a full-color collection of his works. The Future Was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim is an in-depth review of the artist’s entire career as a sci-fi designer and illustrator. Featuring hundreds of full-color and black-and-white drawings, paintings, marker comps and photos, the book offers a one-of-a-kind, up-close-and-personal view of how the artist foretells the future at the end of a paintbrush. The illustrations are annotated by Trim via his anecdotes and insights as he worked with the Andersons, Meddings and the crew of Century 21 Films, as well as his experiences as a freelance artist and his account of how the instantly recognizable cover art for The War of the Worlds LP was created. Also chronicled: his techniques and influences, unproduced and upcoming projects, and more. With chapters covering his techniques and early influences, unproduced and upcoming projects and more, The Future was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim is a fitting tribute to an artist whose work has permeated the pop culture landscape for more than forty years, and a meticulous archive of his seminal works in the field of sci-fi art and design.

The Art Of Mike Trim. Images Of SciFi.

AVAILABLE JULY 25, 2006
from Fabgearusa.com, Amazon.com, and book stores worldwide.

All Mike Trim Images Are Copyright.

# # #

The Future Was FAB: The Art of Mike Trim

By Anthony Taylor with Mike Trim

Forewords by Richard Taylor and David Tremont of Weta Workshop

Published by Hermes Press. 128 pages. Trade Paperback, 9×12 inches, $29.95

ISBN: 1932563822

Christoper Priest, At Last, Gets The Movie Treatment.

If there is one under rated British SF author that comes to mind, it’s Christoper Priest. Being one of my favourite authors since reading The Affirmation, I have since collected all his books - A Dream Of Wessex, The Space Machine, The Glamour, The Extremes, Dream Archipelago, The Quiet Woman etc, numerous short stories and of course, The Prestige (some of the older and out of print ones which were suprisingly difficult to track down).

I particularly like the way his novels are cross-linked, where one story will link to another story. For example, The Dream Archipelago references The Affirmation which was read by a soldier, The Affirmation is a novel about a novel being written, which appears to be The Affirmation too. A very clever writing style.

So, I am pleased to find that at last one of his novels has been chosen to be produced as a movie. Let’s hope they pull it off. It is due out sometime in 2007. Pencilled in details are as follows: Director: Christopher Nolan. Cast: Christian Bale, Hugh Jackman. Production Company: Disney/Warner Bros. Written By Jonathan Nolan.

You can read and catch up on the specifics on IMDB and The Z Review.

Photo credit unknown.

Jim Kelly’s Experiment In Self-Audio-Publishing.

Jim Patrick Kelly has recorded some of his short stories and has posted them in the form of free audio books in MP3 files. They have all appeared in some outstanding journals such as Asimov’s Science Fiction, SciFiction, Realms Of Fantasy and The Magazine Of Fantasy And Science Fiction.

You can see from the list below that Jim has been writing for over two decades and the fact that he has put up his stories for free in audio format is a testement to his love of the genre.

You can tell this during his narrations too. As he says in the introduction, he is reading them as he thought them as he was writing them. His voice changes with the text, you can feel the emotion coming through every breath. The snippets of music during the start and at the end really add to the overall presentation. Thankfully there is no sound effects or added music during the text itself, making the true power of the words come through without any superfluous trimmings.

I hope that you get enjoyment from these free e-books, and in turn peruse his commercially available paperbound books and e-books.

• Bierhorst, R. G., Seera, B. L. and Jannifer, R. P. ‘Proof of the Existence of God and an Afterlife.’ Journal of Experimental Psychology. (August 1998)
• The Edge Of Nowhere (June 2005)
• Barry Westphal Crashes The Singularity (September 2002)
• Faith (June 1989)
• The Best Christmas Ever (May 2004)
• Serpent (May 2004)
• Bernardo’s House (June 2003) (Rated R)
• The Pyramid Of Amirah (March 2002)
• Itsy Bitsy Spider (June 1997)
• The Ice Is Singing (April 2003)
• Monsters (June 1992)
• Fruitcake Theory (December 1998)
• Unique Visitors (2001)

“An Everyday Town Once Had A Mysterious Visitor.”

No one would have believed, in the last years of the nineteenth century, that human affairs were being scrutinized, written down, rearranged and composed into a short but powerful novel. A man busied himself, merging intelligences greater than Man’s and yet as mortal as his own.

A leafy suburban town became the focus of his writings, the first strike point of an invasion from outerspace. From Mars. One world crept silently towards another. Thus was born, War Of The Worlds.

Herbert George Wells.

Some Shots Of The Wonderful H.G. Wells’ Martian Sculpture/Rendition To Be Seen In Woking

A Long Shot Which Shows The Height Of This Impressive Work Of Art

An Almost Vertical Shot Of The Daunting Martian Sculpture

A Close Up Showing The Detail Of The Martian’s Body

Another Close Up Shot. Notice The Detail, Especially The Tenticles

The Inscription Which Can Be Found Near The Martian

The Crashed Pod In Which The Martians Landed Is Located A Distance From The Martian Itself

As well as the Martian, a Crashed Pod and Bacteria Trail were built. The surrounding area was changed too to compliment the structure.

The Woking War Of The Worlds Martian Sculpture was conceived, designed and built by Michael Condron, Sculptor in 1998 and still looks as cool as it did then.

It is a shame that Woking didn’t utilise and build upon, even work with Universal Studios to promote the town centre and surrounding countryside (Horsell Common inparticular).